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Poolside Fashion Show Gets All Wet

From OC ON FLEEK
Posted by Designer Pants On Fire

Diva fashion designer Pari Kazemi might be a lot of things, but she’s never boring. After allegedly losing her endorsement from the powerful Bliss Network over refusing to compromise the Persian influences in her designs, the outspoken mistress of inclusive fashion thew up a surprise catwalk last night poolside at Sapphire Cove. What was supposed to be a casual mixer of potential donors became a standing-room-only drag show, thanks in no small part to rumors — allegedly spread by Kazemi herself — that Persian pop icon Googoosh would be performing. While the musician herself didn’t show, there was plenty else for guests to see. Rest assured, girlfriends, OC On Fleek is working the smartphone gods to get answers! Who was the handsome blond stud who took a drunken swan dive into the hotel’s swimming pool? What is his rumored connection to the fashion designer’s younger brother, who also happens to be on staff at the hotel? We’re pretty sure we’ve found the guy’s name, but we’re holding it back for now because, you know, lawyers. But if you’ve got any tips, be sure to drop them in our inbox. And a word to Ms. Kazemi — if you want people to pay attention to your clothes you might want to reign in the drama with your family. Just sayin’.

Is It Sunset For Sapphire Cove?

From The Orange County Recorder Blackmail Scandal Decimates Hotel’s Security Staff, Leads to Dramatic Management Shake-Up Yesterday’s surprise FBI raid at Sapphire Cove, a posh Orange County resort, resulted in the arrests of its general manager and almost every member of its security department. The men were charged this morning with orchestrating a complex blackmail scheme that targeted multiple guests over a period of several years using video and audio recordings illegally obtained using the hotel’s security system. Today we’re learning more about the one security agent who wasn’t arrested yesterday, thirty-one-year-old Logan Murdoch, a Marine Corps veteran with a sterling professional record who sources say is scrambling to assemble a new security team as the hotel’s occupancy plunges to levels not seen in its decades-long history. Sapphire Cove has remained a family-run business since it opened its doors as a modest beach club and inn during the late 1960’s. In the years since, it has managed to remain competitive with larger, corporate-owned competitors that now dot the Pacific Coastline between San Juan Capistrano and Newport Beach. It is currently owned by a family trust. Sources with Pacific Trust Bank confirm that it is this trust’s morals clause that will prevent former general manager Rodney Harcourt from returning to the position, regardless of whether or not he is cleared of any wrongdoing. That leaves one person most likely to fill the role, says Margot Whitaker, the editor of Hospitality Now — the disgraced manager’s nephew, Connor Harcourt, who for the past five years has been working as event planner in Manhattan. But the younger Harcourt, who is openly gay, has shown little interest in the hotel over the past five years, despite once being touted as his uncle’s natural successor. Sources close to the hotel say the two men are estranged and the estrangement may be related to Connor Harcourt’s sexual identity. Connor Harcourt was captured by reporters last night at John Wayne Airport after returning from Manhattan via private jet for what some are describing as an all-hands-on-deck meeting with the hotel’s trust managers and attorneys. Whoever assumes the role will have to decide whether or not Logan Murdoch should remain on staff with the hotel. “Look, there’s no denying there’s a cloud of suspicion over this Murdoch guy,” says Edward Clayton, a former FBI agent and Orange County mystery writer who has been watching the case closely. “You have to ask, how does he not notice what everyone in his department is up to? At the same time, his record suggests he’s a real boy scout. Also, it’s highly doubtful the FBI wouldn’t have scooped him up yesterday if they’d had even the slightest suspicion he was in on it. The raid was just too aggressive and too public.” When it comes to Murdoch’s fate, the next few days should reveal what the new general manager decides, and just who that new general manager will be.

Sapphire Cove, Once a Hotbed of Scandal, Elevates Handsome Pastry Chef to Lead Role

By Margot Whitaker, From Hospitality Now

Allegedly it was a French wedding cake that did it. When Connor Harcourt, the general manager of Sapphire Cove, headed to London for a little getaway with his new fiancé, little did Ethan Blake know that he was actually being scouted. Blake, who at a dashingly handsome forty-three has worked in the pastry kitchens of a dizzying retinue of exclusive resorts, including big city hotels, island paradises, and remote Scottish castles, simply assumed that Harcourt was paying him a visit at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park thanks to the recommendation of a mutual friend. But a few months later, when Sapphire Cove’s head pastry chef was forced to retire for reasons the hotel staff refuses to discuss, Harcourt immediately contacted Blake and asked him if he wanted the gig. “I was overjoyed,” says Blake, who recently crossed the pond to join the beachfront resort’s staff. “When they asked for a Zoom meeting, I figured there’d be some sort of offer. But I had no idea they’d invite me to join as head pastry chef.” He demurs when asked if the delicious dishes he prepared for Harcourt on that now fateful London afternoon were intended to solicit anything other than a satisfied groan. “Look, it’s not a French wedding cake unless you can’t see over the top of it,” he says. Despite his incredible career, Blake is tight-lipped about how he spent his days before entering the world of fine cuisine. Except to say that he had to put himself through culinary school without any outside support and that he’s not on speaking terms with his family of origin, as he refers to them. “My New York years were rough,” he says, eyes growing distant. “But they got me where I am today so…no regrets, I guess.”